faster with age

     Ran 8 miles. First 4 at around 8:20 ave. Next 4 started a fartlek run 2x1/4 mile at 6:28 and 6:14 pace and then 2x1/2mile at 6:29 and 6:25 pace.  Pace for all 8m was 7:52

     Ran 8 miles this morning. First 4M at 8:31 pace. Next 4M at 7:24 pace. Overall pace 7:55.

     Did my usual 20 mile mt. bike loop. I'm planning to get back to a good routine this week. I've missed a lot of workouts the past week because of some pressing projects to get finished up before winter sets in. I didn't stress to much about missing runs though because I've got some hip pain I'm trying to get on top of.  The extra rest days seems to have helped.

     This morning was 11 deg. and calm. I ran 8 miles. The first 4.5 M starting at 7:50 pace working down to 7:20 pace. Then the last 3.5 in 6:58, 6:44, 6:46, and the last 1/2 at 6:19 pace.  Overall pace for 8 M was 7:14. My hip felt good again today. I think the extra rest really helped and also not running any more than 8 M at a time. It was usually beyond 8 miles it was getting the worst. 

     Beautiful morning. Only 29 deg at 10 o'clock but sunny and calm. I ran in shorts and had to ditch the sweatshirt after 2 miles. Just took it easy and was only planning to go 8 but ended up going 11 up around the reservoir which is now iced over. 8:15 pace. Hip felt great. Hopfully next week I can get back to building up mileage. I think these 2 low mileage weeks helped a lot.

     Running on snow this morning. I kept the pace real easy. I went 11 miles at 8:42 pace. There were no tire tracks and a light snow falling. It was quite peaceful.

     13 deg this morning to start  20 miles on the mt bike. Very little of yesterdays snow was left.

     This morning I went for an 8.5 mile run. I ran the first 4 M at 7:31 pace. Mile five in 6:46 then averaged 6:17 for a 3 mile tempo run. Then 1/2 M cooldown. I had planned on picking it up for the last 3 miles and running the rest at a medium pace but I felt good this morning and did the whole run faster than than I had planned. Overall pace for 8 miles was 6:58. Felt like a great workout.

     This morning I ran 4 miles at 8:44 pace. Then I did 20 on the mountain bike riding fairly hard effort.

     Thursday after I had been sitting for lunch I got up and had a very sore back. It had felt good earlier that day on my short run and bike ride. I had an incident on my run where my dogs [who were running with me] came running up from behind wrestling each other on the run and plowed into the back of my legs while I was running. It sent a jolt all through me and I felt lucky I didn't fall or injure something. I didn't feel any particular pain afterward but I think this awkward jolt got it started and just tightened up on me once I got a chance to sit down a while. 

     It got worse through the day and gave me trouble sleeping that night. Friday morning it was painfull just to walk let alone run. I spent most of the day on a bumpy tractor with a poor seat which didn't help. I had another tough time sleeping last night. Rolling over or moving my legs is painfull and has to be done slow and this morning it is a real chore just to get out of bed, put on pants or get up from a chair or walk. Coughing or sneezing is very painful.

     I had been feeling good so this really hit out of the blue. I'm afraid I won't be able to run for a while. Or ride a bike or anything.

My back is feeling much better today. A week ago on sunday I couldn't even sit through my meetings and had to go home early. Walking was very slow and bent over. I tried a little test last night and ran 200 meters. I had a slight pain but not bad. I went out to try it again tonight and it felt good enough I just kept going for a mile. I would have gone farther but I had a meeting to go to.

     It was time to try running again so I went out this morning in a blizzard and 5 inches of new unplowed snow and started running. My back had a little sorness so I only went 2 miles. It seems to be a bit tight in the mornings. I enjoy running in the snow but I enjoy it more when I'm not running into a stiff headwind with the snow blowing into my eyes making them hard to keep open. I guess I should take some ski goggles.

     PM at noon I went out and tried it again. It wasn't snowing as hard but was still windy. My back felt better and some of the road had been plowed. I went 5 miles at 9:20 pace. My heartrate was about where it normally is at 7:45 pace. Probably a combination of the poor footing and the fact I havn't run in 1 1/2 weeks. It felt good to be out running again.

     Went for a late AM mt. bike ride. First ride on snow this year. It was a good temp for a winter ride. It wasn't very cold but far enough below freezing to keep the snow firm. I went 18 miles but since snow riding is slower with the same effort I'm counting 1 mile for every 12 minutes.

     PM ran 3 miles at 9:20 pace. My back felt pretty good. The footing made the running slow again.

     It was 2 degrees when I went out the door this morning. Had a good ice beard going. I Ran 8 miles on snow and ice. I think that's probably how it will be for the rest of the winter. The first 3 1/2 miles I ran 8:49 pace. The next 4 1/2  I averaged 8:01 but that pace felt faster. That snow and ice really seem to slow me down. My back felt pretty good with a small amount of soreness. I'm amazed I feel this much better this soon. It was 2 weeks ago tomorrow that my back went out on me and I couldn't even walk without a lot of pain for the first 4 days.

     I feel like I've really been slacking lately on my running. I didn't run at all on Christmas day because we had a blizzard all day and it seemed easier to just take it off. Friday I spent the day digging out from the Christmas storm. We have a lane that is nearly 1/2 mile long and it was burried under 3 foot drifts. It normally doesn't take long in the plow truck but it was too deep for that and 1 scoop at a time on the tractor takes a while. By the time I got out we had to leave and I didn't get a chance to run after that. By the time I got a chance again it was just getting dark Sat. night with blowing snow again. After skipping the last 2 days I decided I better get out there. It wasn't too bad other than the footing on unplowed snow sure slows you down. The snow keeps it a little brighter to see after dark. I went 7 miles at about 9:15 pace.

     I ran 8 miles this morning on snow. Half was packed with ok footing and half  loose with poor footing. The weather was nice.  I ran an overall pace of 8:28 but my average HR was  where I'd normally be at 7:30 pace on dry surface. I ran the fastest  mile in 7:45 and counted that as MP. My back felt decent today but it's still got a ways to go.

     Did a 15 mile bike ride this morning on snow. The snow really slows me down. Expecially several sections where the snow had drifted slightly. It was only 1 to 4 inches but it makes it hard to even keep the bike going.

     PM  3 miles run at 8:50 pace.

     I was afraid I wouldn't be able to run on non snowpacked roads the rest of the winter. Some years once they ice up it's there to stay but it warmed to the upper 30s yesterday and with a little salt [ which they normally don't use out here] they were able to plow most of it off. Since Im planning to do Painters 1/2 marathon in 2 1/2 weeks I decided to use the nearly clear pavement to do a tempo run. I had a 2 mile stretch of pavement so I ran it back and forth 4 times for 8 miles total. I ran the first 3 at 7:28 pace. The next mile in 7:01. Then 4 miles at 6:43 pace. The pace the last 4 miles felt way harder than it should have and much harder than  on a similar run 4 weeks ago just before my back problem flared up and kept me from much running. My back felt real good on the run.Overall pace for 8 miles was 7:03.